Tick Family
Ticks are Arthropods, which means that they have jointed limbs. They come from the family Arachnida ('eight-legged') and are in the same family as spiders, scorpions, mites and harvestmen. Ticks are from the order Acarina and are parasitic (feeding on the living tissue of a host). They are ectoparasites, which means that they are external parasites, living on the outside of the host's body.
Ticks can be hard bodied or soft bodied. There are three families:
FAMILY |
MORE COMMON GENERA |
NUMBER OF SPECIES |
| Argasidae Soft tick |
Antricola Argas Otobius Ornithodoros |
4 140 2 90 |
| Ixodidae - Group 1: Prostriata Hard tick |
Purely the genus Ixodes |
Approx 250 |
| Ixodidae - Group 2: Metastriata Hard tick The difference between the two groups is determined by the location of an anal groove, anterior to the anus in Prostriata, and posterior to the anus in Metastriata. |
Amblyomma Aponomma Anocentor Boophilus Dermacentor Haemaphysalis Hyalomma Rhipicephalus Margaropus |
100 26 1 5 31 150 21 63 3 |
| Nutalliellidae - morphological features of both the Argasidae and Ixodidae |
Nuttalliella namaqua |
Lone species found in South Africa and Tanzania. |
